The full course syllabus is here.
Office hours: Tuesdays 3:30-4:30pm, 147 Gowen Hall and by appointment, via Zoom
Course Description
This course will help you understand the rise of China. China is the second largest economy in the world and a growing global power; at the same time, it faces considerable governance challenges at home and an increasingly wary international community abroad. The course provides an in-depth analysis of the political history, contemporary institutions, and governance issues facing China today. It highlights several major themes from the twentieth century to the present: the role of nationalism, the changing place of markets and private property, and the penetration of state power from the center in Beijing to the urban neighborhood and rural village.
The first part of the course addresses China’s modern political history and provides an essential foundation for subsequent topics. It addresses the formation of political parties, ideology and nationalism, revolution, state-building, and the planned economy, because these aspects of history continue to shape China in the present.
The second part of the course focuses on the political institutions that govern China today, including the organization of the party-state, how the state manages its own officials, how it surveils civil society and controls the media, and how it orchestrates elections and employs courts of law to maintain party rule.
The final part of the course uses the foundations of political history and political institutions to analyze crucial challenges facing China today, including labor and environmental conditions, local aspects of trade and technology, inequality and social welfare, minorities’ status, contemporary nationalism, assertive local identities, and expression of popular dissent like White Paper protests.
Course Requirements
Participation. The more actively you participate, the more you learn. Successful participation is based on
completion of all readings, assignments, quizzes, and in-class activities, including the in-class debate on
Wednesday, November 19. Debate assignments will be announced in class, and debate preparation will be due on
Monday, November 17. All forms of participation together constitute 20% of the final grade.
Midterm (in class) and final (online). Students will take an in-class midterm exam on Wednesday, October 22
(25%), and an online final exam on Tuesday, December 9 at 2:30pm (25%). This is our officially scheduled
exam day and time. The final exam allows you to integrate what you learned in the first two sections of the course
on political history and institutions and apply it to analyzing China’s contemporary governance challenges.
Term paper. A term paper—not to exceed ten double-spaced pages—is required (30%). The term paper is an
opportunity to explore a facet of governance in greater depth and to develop an argument based on evidence.
Paper topics will be introduced on Wednesday, October 29. A preliminary bibliography with two scholarly, peerreviewed
sources is due on Wednesday, November 5. An annotation of one scholarly, peer-reviewed source from
your bibliography is due on Monday, November 24. A draft introduction with thesis statement is due on
Wednesday, December 3. The complete term paper is due on Monday, December 8. All submissions will be
through Canvas. Unexcused late papers will be marked down 0.1 point per day.
Course Materials
Journal articles and E-book chapters available in the UW Library E-Journals collection are marked “full text
online.” Additional readings are available through Canvas.
Additional Course Information
Academic Integrity
Students at the University of Washington (UW) are expected to maintain the highest standards of academic conduct, professional honesty, and personal integrity. Plagiarism, cheating, and other misconduct are violations of the University of Washington Student Conduct Code (WAC 478-120).
Religious Accommodation
Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy. Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request. form.
Community Standards
Information on freedom of expression and community standards at UW can be found here. The Department of Political Science recognizes and affirms the university’s mission to “value and honor diverse experiences and perspectives, strive to create welcoming and respectful learning environments, and promote access, opportunity and justice for all.” We expect every member of this community to contribute toward cultivating an inclusive and respectful culture throughout our classrooms, work environments, and campus events.
Disability Resources
If you would like to request academic accommodations due to a disability, please contact Disability Resources for Students, 011 Mary Gates Hall (http://depts.washington.edu/uwdrs). If you have a letter from DRS indicating you have a disability that requires academic accommodations, please present the letter to me so that we can discuss the accommodations you may need for class.